Tokyo Love by Diana Jean

twitched on her lips.
    Yuriko took a step back and Kathleen suddenly found herself able to breathe again. She also suddenly felt cold, as if being so close to Yuriko had given her a fever. She glanced up at Yuriko, wondering why Yuriko was giving her that puzzling expression that she had only given to Ai.
    Then Yuriko smiled, easy and familiar. “Thanks.” She looked down, extending one leg beneath the skirt. “I mean, it’s sort of a strange situation, but thanks. I guess I’m kind of flattered.” She actually looked a little more confused than flattered. Kathleen thought she sort of understood that emotion.
    “Yeah, it is a pretty strange situation.”
    Yuriko turned to the mirror. “Make sure to update me whenever you figure out what went wrong with Ai. I'm rather interested to see the results.”
    “Sure. Yeah, definitely.”
    There was still a lump in Kathleen's throat, but the tension was gone. The kind of tension Kathleen hadn’t even realized had formed between them. She returned the smile, finding it easily came to her lips. “But honestly, even though you can rock an outfit like that, I don't want Ai drawing that much attention.” Yuriko smiled, eyes glimmering a little more than before. “Okay, something else.”
    They ended up settling for some rather bland shirts and pants and a pair of cheap shoes. It wouldn’t look hideous, like Kathleen’s clothes, nor would they be too stylish. Hopefully Ai would just fade into the background and no one would notice.
    As they were leaving, Yuriko took Kathleen’s wrist. “Hey, there is a great curry place here. Want to grab some?”
    “I’ve never had curry that didn’t come out of one of those packets.”
    Yuriko snorted. “You are really pathetic sometimes.”
    Kathleen made a face, but she was willing to put up with some teasing if she got some decent food in her stomach. She hadn’t eaten since that morning. It was only when they had been walking down the hall for some time did Kathleen realize that Yuriko hadn’t let go of her wrist. It was a little surprising, but Kathleen found she didn’t mind. She was half-dead on her feet and if she didn’t get any food in her stomach, she would probably pass out.
    Kathleen had never eaten in any sort of Japanese restaurant before. This one looked like a bunch of seats facing a bar table, which the waitresses walked up and down between, handing out food from the kitchen. Yuriko took a seat and motioned for Kathleen to sit next to her. A waitress immediately appeared, handing them a couple cups of water and a menu. Kathleen noticed hers was in English. She spoke to Yuriko briefly and then walked away.
    The only Japanese curry that Kathleen knew was the brown gravy-like sauce with soft potatoes and carrots that came out of an instant packet. The only reason she knew of that stuff was because Fukusawa ate it almost every day at his desk. It was ridiculously easy—just heat it up in a microwave and add some instant rice.
    This place was way more elaborate than that. They had more types of meat, including fish and shrimp. The curry sauce came in all sorts of colors from yellow to green. The English menu wasn’t very helpful, barely giving enough broken description for Kathleen to understand.
    Yuriko leaned over. “Do you like your curry spicy?”
    Kathleen once had spicy Indian curry in America. She wasn’t afraid to admit that it made her cry from the heat. “Ah, no. I like mild.”
    “They have a good vegetarian curry here. But there are also some great meat options.”
    “Um, I’ll take whatever you think is good.”
    “Even squid?”
    Kathleen shrugged. “If you think it is good.”
    Yuriko smirked. “Are you telling me that you are one of those types that is actually an adventurous eater, but you are too afraid to go out to even find adventurous food?”
    Kathleen folded her menu and took a sip of her water. “If you are asking if that I’m pathetic, then I’ll have you know that I tried all